Chapter 86: Festival: Contract (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: Festival: Contract (1)
"Phew, now I can finally breathe."
As the sun dipped below the ridge, the heat finally began to subside. Still, the crowded streets remained stiflingly humid, so I sought out a secluded spot.
My destination was the bench I used to frequent. The very spot where I had first met Abel.
I hadn't visited it since that day. With few passersby and situated on a winding path, I figured it was the perfect vantage point to watch the spectacle from a safe distance.
Leaving my club members behind to enjoy this sweet spot all to myself weighed slightly on my conscience... but from what I saw, they were having plenty of fun without me anyway.
I didn't want to ruin their vibe, and besides, I've always preferred being on my own. If they asked where I went, I could just make up some excuse about going to the restroom. Even Chloe, who had been sulking at first, seemed to have caught the festive spirit; her bright expression was a relief.
I slumped back against the bench. The tension and fatigue accumulated over the past three days seemed to melt away in an instant.
Massaging my stiff neck, I summoned my status window for a quick mid-term check.
Flash—
* * *
[Blessing of the Sword God]
If you cut, it will be severed.
◎Body Rank: (12 ▶ 14) ▷ Sword specifications are eased.
◎Mental Rank: (8 ▶ 10) ▷ Words and actions carry an aura of intimidation.
◎Armament Rank: (5 ▶ 6) ▷ Pain is reduced by 2.5 levels when the Blessing is manifested.
☆Synchronization Rate: (21.3 ▶ 24.7)%
▷ 2 lines of 【???】 can be read.
▷ Faintly perceiving the voice of 【???】.
→ [Reaching 25% Synchronization Rate will satisfy the next unlock condition.]
★【???】
[※ The Blessing only activates when using a sword with a length of 39 cm or less and a width of less than 10(+1) cm.]
* * *
"Why does this keep getting longer as the days go by?"
The simple, concise phrase from the first day—If you cut, it will be severed—had now been fleshed out with all sorts of details, making it look like a proper game interface.
Being able to see my growth so intuitively doubled the sense of accomplishment. I could see exactly how game developers motivated players to grow. Even I couldn't help but smirk with a quiet sense of pride.
"My Synchronization Rate shot up quite a bit again."
The Synchronization Rate was on a constant upward trajectory. It was likely influenced by my sparring match with Mao Rang.
To think that getting involved in just one minor incident was enough to satisfy the unlock conditions.
Whether this Synchronization Rate would turn out to be a lifeline or a poisoned chalice remained to be seen, but one thing was certain: it was intimately linked to the Blessing of the Sword God.
It also went up when I had that dream before.
I stared at the status window for a long moment. My Body and Mental Ranks had both risen steadily, and most importantly, my Armament Rank had gone up thanks to the 'Ten-Thousand-Year Frost' I received from Mansur. I guess there really was a world of difference between Daixo and luxury goods...
"Is it really enough to just keep doing what I'm doing?"
The metrics seemed to encourage me to keep going as I had, but I couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling that someone was steering me in this direction. It felt as if I was being egged on to grow as fast as possible.
"..."
I closed the status window and looked around at the scenery.
The orange glow of twilight had completely vanished behind the horizon, and the clamor of the parade had died down a bit. Yet, anticipation still sparkled in the eyes of the crowd.
"It's almost time for the fireworks."
Unlike the chaotic parade, I was actually looking forward to the fireworks. If I hadn't even cared about this, I would have just gone back to the dormitory and slept. Watching celebratory explosions light up the night sky was something that could make even an adult's heart flutter.
Though lately, I've been getting confused about my real age.
I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky. The stars, once hidden by the sun, were gradually beginning to twinkle, and the hazy moon was sharpening into focus.
In this world overrun by monsters, espers, and magic, this was one of the few sights that resembled Earth. Not that I particularly missed Earth at this point. It had been a decent life, but to call it satisfying... well, not really.
If anything, it had been a turbulent life. I had been called the nation's best swordsman, but in the end, I was just an ordinary citizen who knew how to handle a blade—no, actually, I was even less than that.
From the obnoxious customers who would call me a "fish butcher" whenever they were in a bad mood, to my family members who constantly pestered me for money.
In truth, those factors played a huge part in why I grew attached to this place so quickly.
Who would miss a fucking reality like that? Besides, the only real relationship I had back then was with my first master.
"Come to think of it, it's been over twenty years since I last saw that old man."
My first master had kicked me out the moment I gained some proficiency with the sword. He claimed there was a clear limit to what he could teach me. Saying that no lesson was more valuable than real combat, he sent me packing without so much as a letter of recommendation.
At the time, I didn't understand and was furious, but as I wandered across the country, I naturally came to realize what he meant.
More important than mastering techniques was the ability to adapt to variables. There was no better classroom than the raw, unpredictable nature of real combat. Thanks to that, independence and composure were etched into my very being, allowing me to blend seamlessly into this world.
In terms of prioritizing real combat, this academy and that potbellied old man are exactly the same.
...Still, kicking me out with nothing but a single suitcase was a bit much. I was his disciple, for crying out loud; he could have at least given me some travel money. For a worldly, shrewd guy who probably had a fat savings account, he was incredibly stingy. No wonder his hair was thinning.
As I sat on the bench grumbling to myself like that...
"..."
A sudden, chilling presence washed over me. It was still the festival period and there were plenty of outsiders around, so it shouldn't have been unusual.
Yet, it felt incredibly foreign and unnatural—like a human, but at the same time, not.
It's similar to when I ran into the Mermaid.
However, the distinct prickling sensation at the back of my neck that usually accompanied the detection of magic power was faint. It was as if their energy was severely depleted. Had I not been in such a secluded spot, I might not have even noticed it.
I manifested the 'Blessing of Transfer' and used the dirt ground as a medium to spread my senses. The sensitivity forged by the Blessing of the Sword God was recognized as a blessing itself, making it transferable. Remembering how I had used a similar trick back in my gaming days, I decided to apply it here.
It was as if my ears were emitting ultrasound; everything within a thirty-meter radius was etched clearly into my mind. To put it in perspective, it felt like a 3D blueprint was being drawn in real-time inside my head.
This is insane.
The effect was far greater than I had anticipated. A sensation that seemed to transcend the five senses. If one were to awaken a sixth sense, it would probably feel exactly like this.
My awe at my own abilities was short-lived.
I detected a figure approaching me.
I immediately gripped my hilts.
Murasame in my right hand, Ten-Thousand-Year Frost in my left.
I adjusted my grip to a reverse hold, ready to draw the steel with a mere flick of my wrists.
They're getting closer.
Back on Avallon Island, the unpredictable terrain made it easy to destroy evidence, but this was Joaquin Academy.
I couldn't afford to act rashly on campus. A bloody incident without clear evidence would only work against me later. If I was lucky, I'd get expelled; if I was unlucky, I'd be dragged before the Hero Court. The right move was to proceed with the utmost caution.
...Or so I would normally think.
Caution is a fallback plan for when you lack certainty. Thanks to manifesting two blessings simultaneously, I had pinpointed the target's characteristics with absolute precision.
Purple eyes.
I slowly closed my eyes, focusing my nerves onto a single point. Then, I slowly lifted my eyelids. A shadow loomed at the edge of my vision.
I took a light step forward.
Whoosh!
With a sharp crack of breaking air, only an afterimage remained where I had just been standing.
Screeech!
The sound of metal tearing through the air. As the distance closed to point-blank range in an instant, I saw her pupils contract into tight circles. A woman with dull purple eyes and a dazed expression.
"W-Wait—!"
The woman spoke a beat too late. She threw her hands up, showing she had no hostile intent. She was completely defenseless, but...
Thuck!
Carried by momentum, the blade plunged straight into her flesh.
The woman looked back and forth between my eyes and her own stomach. Her pupils began to dilate.
"Gah!"
A short, choked scream. Clutching her stomach, she rolled around on the ground.
"Aaaagh! I'm dying! I'm dying!"
"..."
I was taken aback. I had anticipated a counterattack, but because she had stopped so abruptly, I ended up stabbing her right in the gut.
I wondered for a second if she was an ordinary person, but the purple blood she was spilling made it clear she was a villain.
Villains were treated as sub-species by both demons and humans, which was why their blood was a different color. Furthermore, the stab wound from just a moment ago was already knitting itself shut. I let out a sigh of relief.
She's definitely not human.
However, her regeneration speed was much slower than what I was used to. After rolling around in the dirt for a bit, the woman panted heavily.
"Seriously! Who stabs someone first thing without even asking questions?!"
What was this? A clear villain was actually throwing a tantrum at me.
"And here I thought we could actually talk. Is this how Lady Agor met her end too...?"
The woman muttered, letting out a groan of pain. I looked down at her coldly.
Her shoulders trembled slightly. Her gaze was fixed on my sashimi knife. It was obvious she was scared out of her wits.
"Um, could you put that down first... please? Mr. Geomma?"
She addressed me familiarly. Annoyance flared within me, and I glared at her fiercely.
"You walked right into my hands, yet you sure have a lot to say."
As I pointed the tip of my blade at her, she shrank back. Then, as if resigning herself to her fate, she knelt down politely.
"I came to make a deal."
"A deal?"
The woman nodded. When I gave her a chin flick to permit her to speak, she hesitated before continuing.
"If you spare my life, I will give you information on the people targeting you... Lord Geomma."
* * *
Kang Geomma sat on the bench with his arms crossed. Kneeling right in front of him was the villain, Choi Seol-ah. With her head bowed low, she stole a glance at his boots and thought:
He's even crazier than I imagined.
Choi Seol-ah had survived by leeching off the strong. That was the sole reason she had become a villain.
Rather than being devoured by the strong as a weakling, she chose to become strong at the cost of her humanity.
If she could wield magic, humanity was a cheap price to pay. Thanks to that power, even high-ranking elders bowed their heads before her and showered her with money.
A modest amount of power. That was all Choi Seol-ah had ever wanted. She harbored no malicious ideology, nor did she hold a grand grudge against humanity.
But not long ago, the power that sustained her vanished along with the master she served. Villains who were born human borrowed magic power from a Corps Commander through a contract. Naturally, when the source of that magic died, their subordinates lost their power as well.
She had built her entire position by relying on that magic power, only for it to crumble overnight. And at the hands of the cadet standing right in front of her, no less.
How was I supposed to know things would turn out like this?!
Approaching him was a gamble in its own right. Having lost her standing among the villains, she had nowhere left to retreat.
That professor wouldn't just give me a quick death.
If that was the case, she figured she might as well beg Kang Geomma for her life... but she had almost ended up with a hole in her stomach the second they met.
Choi Seol-ah cautiously gauged his reaction out of the corner of her eye. Kang Geomma was silently organizing his thoughts.
I've spilled everything I know, except for the stuff about that bastard professor.
Kang Geomma massaged his temples before speaking.
"So, what you're saying is that villains are hiding all over the academy."
"Yes, exactly!"
"To beg for your life with just that level of information... when you've tried to kill me more than once or twice?"
Kang Geomma glared at Choi Seol-ah with fierce eyes. Her lips trembled as she rubbed her hands together imploringly.
"I didn't want to do those things either! I must have been tricked by that demon who is now dead—no, who kicked the bucket. I have truly committed a sin worthy of death."
I have to play the submissive, pathetic card as much as possible. Coming here was a gamble anyway.
At her words, Kang Geomma narrowed his eyes. He lightly gripped the base of his hilt and swayed the blade. The sashimi knife swung left and right like a pendulum before her eyes. The burning pain in her abdomen from moments ago flared up in her mind.
Still, since we're on academy grounds, he won't just kill me blindly.
Finally, Kang Geomma spoke again.
"Except for that last part, you don't seem to be lying. I could easily slice you up right here, but considering what you've done, that would be too easy on you."
"..."
"Do you want to live?"
"Huh? Ah, yes! Yes!"
Choi Seol-ah nodded vigorously. She had to appeal to his mercy.
Then, Kang Geomma suddenly pointed the tip of his blade at her left ear. A dangling earring with a pink, teardrop-shaped crystal swayed there.
"Hand that over to me."
Choi Seol-ah's heart skipped a beat. She desperately tried to hide her reaction, putting on a dumbfounded expression.
"Pardon? This earring? But this is for women—"
"Hand it over."
Kang Geomma cut her off flatly.
"I'll spare your life. But you're leaving that behind."
"..."
Choi Seol-ah trembled violently under his piercing glare. Kang Geomma pointed the tip of his blade precisely at her ear and said:
"The Mark of the Thrall."